THE 25 houses of SM City GK Village, 21-sqm each, were given to 25 families as part of SM City North Edsa 25th year anniversary.
MANILA, Philippines — A new house for the New Year was SM Prime Holding’s gift for 25 families of Barangay Bagong Silang in Caloocan City. As part of SM City North EDSA’s 25th Anniversary celebrations, the mall partnered with the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, which undertakes the role of building communities in depressed areas and becoming a catalyst in uplifting the quality of life of the less fortunate.
The gift came just in time for Christmas, when the homes, which began construction last August 2010, were turned over to the recipients, giving the families more reason to celebrate.
SM Prime Holdings President Hans T. Sy, Gawad Kalinga Executive Director Luis Oquinena, and Caloocan City Vice Mayor Egay Erice took part in the turnover ceremony. SCMC President Annie Garcia, VP for Operations Bien Mateo, Staging Area GK President Rafael Sabenorio, and Housing Authority Head State Management Head Ligaya Antigua joined them.
Each of the homes located at Phase 8-A Package 11 Staging Area, Bagong Silang, Caloocan City has the standard design of a GK home. These are 21 sqm, one-story row houses with a provision for a loft, which the recipient has the option to build.
All houses are painted in bright colors to symbolize hope and aspiration.
Like all GK Villages, the SM Village was built through bayanihan – a combination of skilled workers and the sweat equity of GK residents.
Gawad Kalinga architects and engineers headed by Community Infrastructure Coordinator Jeron Amadore led the building of the SM GK Village together with the recipients and the SM team led by SM Prime Holdings President Hans T. Sy.
The SM Village reinforced the bayanihan (being a hero to one another) spirit in the community, leading the way to ensure the sustainability of homes because the families will take efforts to maintain the beauty of their environment because they all worked on it together.